Finding a Therapist

[KissesBreakingWave]

So, finally figured out - odd chain of circumstances, one could come to believe in supernatural intervention - that I really do have a condition that would benefit from talking to someone. HAS benefited from talking, just not to professionals.

So, I need a therapist. A professional. No problem, I have access to funds.

The problem is finding and picking one out.

I've got friends who work in the NHS who're asking around for me.
I'm going to ask my GP for a suitable referral.
I've googled.
I've a sister who's medically qualified and worked for a while in psychiatry who insists I should stick with ones that are actual doctors.

What am I missing for search strategies? I need to be able to find someone relatively nearby who's not operating a waiting list of the kind you get with non-urgent NHS mental health care.

(And google has turned up some prize idiots. Lady, if you believe in homeopathy and can't spell-check your own website, I ain't trusting you with the contents of my mind.)

Google BACP, UKCP and counselling directory. It's better to go with someone who is accredited, as counselling isn't (yet) a regulated profession and you get some.. Unusual practitioners out there! You might also want to think about their mode of working/theoretical orientation, but many therapists (mine included and she's a psychoanalyst) work in an integrative way, drawing on different theories

Don't feel you have to go with the first person you find/meet, it's fine to have assessments with a few people and see which feels like the best "fit", as arguably, the relationship between client and therspist is the most important factor :)

Thanks, Millie, they're added to the list. And the thing about assessments and finding a fit cross-checks with other advice I've had elsewhere, so underlining that one.